1. Field of the Present Disclosure
This disclosure relates generally to footwear with spiked soles and more particularly to such footwear wherein the spikes are extendable and retractable as desired during wearing.
2. Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98
Calabrese et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,449,880, discloses an antislip apparatus provided for footwear to be fit on a region of a sole and/or a heel of a shoe defining an engagement surface in contact with the ground surface. The antislip apparatus includes a ground gripping structure for engaging the ground surface including a support and crampon-like prongs disposed on the support extending perpendicularly from the support. A cam arrangement interacts with the support for moving the prongs to one of a grip position with the prongs extending beyond the level of the engagement surface, or to a rest position with the prongs disposed inwardly of the engagement surface. The cam arrangement includes a plate disposed substantially parallel to the support and cams acting on one of the support and the plate to vary a distance between the support and the plate to move the prongs. An operating arrangement or actuator is provided for operating the cam arrangement. The actuator includes a cylindrical rotor formed integral with the plate. The rotor is disposed perpendicularly to the support and has at a lower end thereof, accessible from a side of the engagement surface, a seat defined by a groove or cut. A holding box element contains the support, the cam arrangement and the actuator. The holding box element is provided one of below or on the engagement surface. The holding box element includes an opening allowing access to the actuator and has one or more slots which the prongs extend through in the grip position. Mack, U.S. Pat. No. 6,389,714, discloses a shoe having retractable spikes; including a shoe portion comprised of a sole portion having a heel portion and a toe portion. The heel portion and the toe portion each have a plurality of apertures therethrough in a spaced relationship. A pair of plates are disposed within the hollow interior of the sole portion. The pair of plates each have a plurality of spikes extending downwardly therefrom in a spaced relationship. The plurality of spikes are aligned with the plurality of apertures of the heel portion and the toe portion of the sole portion. The pair of plates each have a pair of springs extending downwardly therefrom which bias the plate upward. A deployment mechanism provides an extended orientation whereby the pair of plates extend downwardly against the biasing of the springs with the spikes extending through the apertures. Violette et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,058,627, discloses an article of footwear which includes a sole having a cavity formed therein and a plurality of holes extending from the cavity to the bottom surface of the sole. A spike is disposed in each one of the holes, and each spike is translatable between an extended position wherein a first end of the spike protrudes from the bottom surface of the sole and a retracted position wherein the first end does not protrude from the bottom surface of the sole. A slide member is slidably disposed in the cavity and has a plurality of recesses formed in a first surface thereof which is oriented towards the spikes. The slide member is translatable in a lengthwise direction between a first position wherein the recesses are aligned with the spikes so that the spikes assume their retracted position and a second position wherein the recesses are not aligned with the spikes so that the spikes assume their extended position. Khayat U.S. Pat. No. 5,870,838, discloses a retractable spike system for providing traction when desired under the entire surface of a footwear sole and heel. Two or more retractable spike assemblies are inserted into cavities in the sole and heel of the footwear. The spikes on each assembly can be engaged by a cam or wedge pressing on a carrier plate. All the assemblies are connected together by a rigid coil attached to the cams or a shaft to which the wedges are fixed, in such a manner that a single mechanism can simultaneously retract or extend all the spikes on all assemblies. Broder, U.S. Pat. No. 5,740,619, discloses a retractable stud for a footgear sole carried by a movable backing plate having a underlying air inflatable and air deflatable bladder with means for air inflation and air deflation which in turn has an underlying footgear outer sole having a bottom outer surface defining an opening for passage of the retractable stud, the bladder in an air inflated configuration moving the backing plate inboard thus holding the stud against the weight of the wearer of the sole in a retracted position entirely within the bottom outer surface of the outer sole, the bladder in an air exhausted deflated configuration allowing the weight of the wearer of the sole to move the backing plate outboard thus holding the stud in a protruding position beyond the bottom outer surface of the outer sole. Jordan et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,737,855, discloses a spiked athletic shoe including a shoe upper, and an outsole housing connected to the shoe upper. The outsole housing includes a bottom wall with a plurality of spike-receiving openings. Spaced-apart rear and front spike plates are located within the outsole housing, and reside respectively in a rear heel portion of the shoe and a front portion of the shoe generally in an area of the ball and toes of the foot. The rear and front spike plates include a plurality of spikes attached thereto for movement between a spike-extended position whereby the plurality of spikes extend outwardly from the bottom wall of the outsole housing, and a spike-retracted position whereby the plurality of spikes are retracted within the outsole housing. A slide plate located within the outsole housing operatively engages the rear and front spike plates, and is actuated by a manually actuated lever to move the rear and front spike plates and attached spikes between the spike-retracted position and the spike-extended position. Kastner, U.S. Pat. No. 5,634,283, discloses a resilient, all-surface sole for footwear in which metal studs are mounted in the sole and extend beyond the bottom surface of the sole to such an extent that when footwear embodying the sole is worn, the metal stud is depressed within the sole until the tips of the studs are substantially at the plane of the bottom surface of the sole. Balgin, U.S. Pat. No. 5,497,565, discloses a projectable-retractable spike assembly for use in combination with footwear. The heel and sole of a piece of footwear encase a rotatable shaft and lock subassembly, with a motion translation (conversion) device which is used to drive a network of shafts, levers and rotatable roller bars. Several spikes depend from the roller bars and thus, are motivated to alternately roll out and downward from or upward and into the heel and sole of the footwear. The assembly may be either fabricated for strap-on wear or encased within heel-sole portions of a shoe or boot. Mercer, U.S. Pat. No. 5,289,647, discloses a golf shoe with a sole and a heel attached to an upper. A spike is housed within a housing inserted into the sole or the heel. The housing includes a hollow cylinder threaded into the sole or heel. The cylinder houses a helical spring that biases a spike to the extended position. When the shoe is used on a hard surface, the surface forces the spike upward against the spring to a retracted position. Davis, U.S. Pat. No. 5,269,080, discloses an athletic shoe with a sole that is slightly, if at all, thicker than soles that are common to athletic shoes. A plurality of spikes or cleats are caused to depend from the bottom of the sole by an actuation mechanism that has a rotatable knob projecting from the back of the athletic shoe. The structure of the sole provides for openings to the undersurface to allow spikes to pivot outwardly beyond the undersurface of the sole. The actuating device has an actuator slide that translates a transverse movement to a pivotal movement of the spikes. Lafever, U.S. Pat. No. 4,873,774, discloses a shoe sole provided with one or more chambers therein. A piston-like cleat plate is fitted for vertical movement in each chamber. Cleats are fitted to the cleat plates, and openings are provided in the chamber bottom for permitting the cleats to pass therethrough when extended. The cleat plates are spring-biased to a retracted position. A source of fluid pressure such as a squeeze bulb type air pump is connected for supplying fluid pressure to the chambers to cause the cleat plates to move downwardly to extend the cleats from the sole bottom, to provide gripping traction. An inflatable member can be provided above the cleat plate in each chamber. A pair of soles may be connected via supply lines to a remote pump positionable at a convenient location on the wearer's person. Chein, U.S. Pat. No. 4,821,434, discloses a shoe with spikes which can be extended and retracted by T-shaped rail members which are actuated by respectively impacting the front or the rear of the shoe sole against a solid target such as a wall or road surface. Buchanen, III, U.S. Pat. No. 4,375,729, discloses anti-skid spikes for use on shoes or boots, to provide firm footing on ice or snow. The spikes are readily extendable and retractable without the use of keys or tools, e.g., when entering a car or a house where floors and rugs might otherwise be damaged thereby. A mechanism for selectively extending and retracting the spikes is sealed within the sole and heel of the footwear to provide improved esthetics and to prevent interference with the mechanism, as by moisture and ice, when temperatures vary from hot to cold. Simoneau, U.S. Pat. No. 4,318,231, discloses within a jogging shoe having a rubber sole, and a mid-sole detachably secured in the soles, a stud for enabling the runner to run safely in winter under icy conditions. The stud projecting from the out-sole of the shoe. Gordos, U.S. Pat. No. 3,793,751, discloses a retractable spike, particularly for a golf shoe and the like, whereby the spikes can be either of protruded or retracted from the bottom sole of the shoe, to protect the floor of a clubhouse or the turf on the green. This movement of the spikes can be accomplished from the outside of the shoe by a mere rotation of a protruding knob. Jankauskas, U.S. Pat. No. 3,747,238, discloses an apparatus for providing gripping studs in footwear, particularly where such apparatus is utilized on very hard surfaces such as sun baked ground, packed snow, or ice. The studs are completely contained within the bottom structure of the footwear to reduce the probability of damage or injury being caused thereby when the footwear is not in use. An elastic material is utilized for the bottom structure, which therefore compresses to concentrate the loads on the studs when the footwear is in use. Edges are disposed as the penetrating surface on each stud to facilitate penetration of the walking surface and to maximize the gripping surface developed for very small penetrations. Various stud configurations and arrangements are provided to prevent the gripping surface in accordance with the needs of differing applications. To minimize the weight of the footwear and maximize its flexure, arcuately shaped bands are utilized for retaining the studs within the footwear. Fox, U.S. Pat. No. 3,717,238, discloses a retractable anti-slip device for a ski shoe consisting of a tubular metal casing transversely embedded in the sole of heel of the shoe, the casing having a longitudinal rotatable camming member therein mounted over a longitudinal plate element provided with depending spurs accessible through openings in the bottom wall portion of the casing and being therefore extensible downwardly from the bottom plane of the sole or heel. The plate member is biased upwardly by springs to retract the spurs. The rotatable camming member has a radial handle element at its end, which is accessible by the user for manually operating the camming member. Henry, U.S. Pat. No. 3,343,283, discloses a retractable anti-slip device for shoe heels, installed within a hollow shoe heel containing spike holes in the bottom thereof and having ground-gripping prongs or spikes bifurcated level and positively projected and retracted through those holes by a crank mounted on an operating rod which is rotated by means of a key, in order to swing the crank into and out of alternate or successive engagement with the arms of the bifurcated lever so as to protect the wearer against slipping while walking on icy surfaces. Halstead, U.S. Pat. No. 1,662,111, discloses an anti-slipping device comprising a casing adapted to be embedded in a shoe heel, a rotatable shaft extending through the casing, a series of internally threaded housings adapted to be embedded in a shoe heel, an attaching flange formed on the upper portion of each housing for attachment to the bottom of the casing, an externally threaded calk arranged within each internally threaded housing, the lower end of each calk being pointed for engagement with the ground, a rectangular shank formed on the upper end of each calk and extending into the casing, a plurality of sleeves arranged in the casing directly above the respective housing, the bore of each sleeve being rectangular for receiving the rectangular shank of the respective calk, the shank being slidable in the sleeve, a worm wheel formed on the upper portion of each sleeve, said shaft being formed with a series of worms for cooperation with the respective worm wheels whereby the calks may be raised or lowered when the shaft is actuated.
Our prior art search described above teaches anti-slip attachments for footwear and footwear with retractable spikes including spikes manually deployed by cables. However, the prior art fails to teach the presently described simplified apparatus providing heretofore unknown advantages as described in the following summary.